Gio and Ren are fictional characters, but Ren does share some aspects of my general teenage life back in the 90s. Everything that happens in the book is a work of pure fiction except... what happens between Ren and Charlie in middle school. Here is my diary entry about the boy he is based on. 

**Please excuse my horrible spelling and penmanship, as I think I was writing this in bed in the dark.** (The photo on the right is "Charlie"). 

Gio is loosely based on my middle school crush (upper left of the photo above), who I only actually talked to once and forgot even existed until he popped up in a vivid dream of mine over 20 years later. That dream and my memory of how I felt about him and that period in my life prompted this story. I thought it would be just six-ish chapters long, but somehow grew into a whole novel—my first big creative writing journey ever. 

And so, from the future, looking back to the past, I'd like to thank him. 

More Fun Things:

Here is a comic strip I did to amuse my friends who hung out at "Cool Beans Cafe."

Finally, the cover when I first uploaded the story to Wattpad.